Class Note 1935

King Vanderburg ’38 asked me to tell Lynn Ryder, wife of Rem, that 75 years ago he attended St. Paul’s school in Garden City, Long Island, along with Rem, who drove to school in a nifty Dodge roadster. King says he was a golfer but not in a class with Rem. Any of you remember Garden City, an upscale church community with a charming brownstone cathedral. Garden City was created by A.T. Stewart, the wealthy owner of Wanamaker’s department store, to be a church-oriented community. I lived nearby and remember it well. Do any of you others? 


John Todd is doing great in Florida, goes swimming and is getting ready to celebrate his 99th birthday. 


I’m sure most of you have read on the front page of many newspapers the story of Maddie James, who at the age of 5 was diagnosed with a rare inoperable malignant brain tumor and has since died. She was the daughter of Collie James ’93, who lived in Capistrano Beach, California, close to the ocean and attended sea camp at the nearby Ocean Institute, which was in the midst of an expansion drive to build a seaside learning center that would feature an exotic learning center. When Maddie saw the plans she looked at Collie and asked, “Are we going to build that? That would be a very good thing.” His answer was, “Yes, Maddie, we are.”


The Maddie James tax-exempt foundation was founded with the goal of raising $1million to create a learning center where future generations can learn about the magic of the sea. The class of ’35 still has about $500, which it will donate with the blessing of Dartmouth and with the approval of all the classmates I called, including Ed Reich, Marvin Rauch, Lou Bookheim and Irv Sager, all of whom report they are doing great. The Dartmouth Club of Orange County is backing this effort. Anyone else who cares to kick in, please go to www.maddiejamesfoundation.org; you can also send any donation through me. Sorry to say there will be no more newsletter because Pete Smith is no longer able to write it. The class thanks Pete and wishes him well. Sad to report the death of Hal Roitman. He loved Dartmouth. He will be missed.


Hope you all had a great holiday. 


—Edward Gerson, 2400 Mariposa West 3A, Laguna Woods, CA 92653; (949) 829-8400; ejgerson@webtv.net